10 things in tech you need to know today, September 3

A
16-year-old invented a robot to help keep forests
healthy.
REUTERS/China
Daily

Good morning! This is the tech news you need to know this Monday.

1. One
of Apple’s self-driving cars got in a crash for the first
time. An Apple autonomous vehicle was involved in a
minor accident on August 24, marking a first for the company.

2.
The biggest details about Apple’s iPhone event have leaked
online.You will almost certainly be able to buy a
new iPhone this September.

3.
Lyft has reportedly hired an adviser to help it prepare for an
IPO in 2019. The ride-hailing company has reportedly
hired Class V Group LLC in an effort to beat Uber to the punch.

4.
Samsung announced its first commercially available 8K
TV. Samsung unveiled the TV at IFA 2018 in
Berlin, which comes in four available sizes and arrive at the end
of September.

5.
Microsoft quietly stopped taking new enrollments for its Surface
Plus financing program. The program offered an
affordable way to own a Surface device by spreading payment over
24 months.

6.
A former Facebook employee said the company needs to be
controlled with new laws because it is failing to protect its
child users. Sandy Parakilas said Facebook
flagrantly disregarded his warnings over third parties misusing
children’s data.

7. The
CEO of JD.com was arrested and subsequently released for alleged
sexual misconduct. Liu Qiangdong was arrested
in Minneapolis during a business trip.

8.
Facebook added a language option for Inupiaq, an indigenous
language spoken in northern Alaska. A Facebook
spokeswoman said it will soon be adding Cherokee and Inuktut
as language options.

9.
VC firm Social Capital removed the team page from its
website after bleeding 7 partners over the
summer. The latest defectors are VC partner
Mike Ghaffary and vice president of marketing Ashley Mayer

10.
A 16-year-old invented a robot that can help scientists keep
trees and forests healthy. The robot is
named Forester, and it explores forests and hit trees with a
mallet to determine how healthy they are.

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